Bhubaneswar, December 15: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a package of Rs 289.42 crore for the benefit of MSMEs in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the state.

The package includes a number of assistance measures such as interest subvention, top-up subsidy, reimbursement of state GST and waiver of annual institutional maintenance charges.

It is aimed at benefiting a range of entrepreneurs, mostly women and weaker sections of society, in the MSME sector of the state to recover from the unexpected challenges by the Covid 19 pandemic, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Odisha Govt Brings Two Ordinances to Facilitate Multiple Marketing Channels Through Contract Farming Amid COVID-19 Lockdown.

Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), 1,70,000 MSME units will reap the benefit of interest subvention, it said. As per the provision, the government will provide an interest subvention for the MSMEs under ECLGS with one-year moratorium.

A sum of Rs 108.29 crore is being released with a focus to cover 40 per cent of eligible women-run MSMEs. Under the PMEGP for the 2020-21 financial year, the top-up subsidy to weaker sections is 5 per cent as promoters contribution as per the prescribed norm.

An amount of Rs 27 crore has been provisioned to meet the requirement. This will help in a big way to the weaker section in facing the pandemic crisis, the statement said.

For the food processing units functioning under PMFME, a Central Sponsored Scheme, on 60:40 basis, will be given 15 per cent extra top-up subsidy to cover around 1,000 unit for the current financial year. Rs 10 crore will be given towards top up subsidy under the scheme, it said.

Covid-19 Assistance package (CAP) launched by the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department is another assistance provision that will bring relief to Nano and Micro Enterprises. Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Shows 'No Specific Safety Concern', Says US Drug Regulator FDA.

Currently, assistance to the tune of Rs 100 crore will be made available through women SHG members. As per the recently amended Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR), approved by the state cabinet, as many as 175 enterprises will be eligible for reimbursement of State GST for the period from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020. Under this proposal, a sum of Rs 38.30 crore will be disbursed.

The waiver of annual institutional maintenance charge payable by MSMEs to Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) which comes around an amount of Rs 5.83 crore in respect of 5,000 MSMEs in various industrial estate will be borne by the IDCO.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2020 08:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).